From the sea, the land and the mountains

From the sea, the land and the mountains
Works by Kabi Kabi and Jinibara artists | 13 Jun to 3 Aug 2025

In celebration of this year’s NAIDOC theme, The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy, the gallery presents From the sea, the land and the mountains: Works by Kabi Kabi and Jinibara artists. This exhibition celebrates First Nations artmaking across the traditional lands of the Sunshine Coast Region – the Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi) peoples of the shores and the northern hinterland, and the Jinibara peoples of the southern hinterland.

Exhibition details
Kane Brunjes, a Kabi Kabi / Gunggari artist, will showcase not only his portraits of First Nations Elders from across the nation, but also works which reflect a deep connection to his cultural heritage. Kane’s practice combines traditional techniques with modern artistic sensibilities, exploring themes of identity, storytelling, and the intricate relationship between nature and humanity. He is a graduate of, and has exhibited with, the Birrunga Gallery three-year Cultural Creative Development Program. Kane is based in Brisbane and travels to the Sunshine Coast regularly, to visit family and connect to his Country. 

Well-known Gubbi Gubbi / Kabi Kabi artist, Zartisha Davis, celebrates the stories passed down to her from her mother and her mother's mother before her. Zartisha’s work often depicts her saltwater tribe from the Mooloola and Meridian Plains, the shellfish eaters. She celebrates the shell middens which document time-immemorial connection to lands and people, woven around stories from her family and the Kabi Kabi Nation. Art, song, and dance is prominent in her family, as she comes from a long line of artists, dancers and song men and women. Zartisha’s paintings will be on exhibition, alongside fabrics and an art installation. 

Scene Through the Screen is an exhibition by Jinibara artists Uncle Noel Blair, Jennifer Kent, Enid Morris and Jason Murphy. These screen-printed works are developed from imagery including species of plants found locally, playful line drawings of wildlife, cultural symbols and marks relating to Country and the cycle of land health and story. Curated by Jason Murphy, these works are presented on tea towels, a domestic object that speaks to activism within our own homes. Jason also suggests these works underpin the community’s relationship to Country, invoking narratives of the importance of generational care for the land. As a part of Horizon 2025’s theme, these artworks are accessible and ‘Radically Hope’ to raise awareness, to make people consider what they do on Country. 

Scene Through the Screen was commissioned for Horizon 2025 through Sunshine Coast Council's MadeSC program. 

Image: Zartisha Davis (Kabi Kabi/Butchulla/Cobble Cobble) | Kabi Kabi Djagan | 2024 | acrylic on canvas | 101.5 x 152.5cm